Investors Should Take Calm From the Latest Fed Statement

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Investors received calming news from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday as central bankers showed they're not oblivious to market jitters created by their communication.

The Fed's latest policy-making statement said the central bank would slow its rate of monthly asset purchases -- also referred to as its economic stimulus program -- to $45 billion a month ($20 billion in mortgage-backed securities and $25 billion in longer-term Treasuries). But it also reiterated the commitment to maintain the federal funds rate for a considerable time after the end of stimulus.

"I think all the Fed is trying to signal is: We're trying to be careful, we're going to have a balanced opinion, we're going to [approach a rate rise] slowly," Wells Fargo Advantage Funds senior portfolio manager Ann Miletti, said in an interview.

While many headlines about the statement focus on continuation of the so-called taper and pickup in economic growth, it's important for investors not to forget the recent saga of rates rhetoric Chair Janet Yellen and others have delivered since last month.

During her first press conference as Fed chair, Yellen said in March that the central bank could begin to raise rates six months after it ended the economic stimulus program.